KabuOro
The Couple KabuOro is the term used to refer to the romantic relationship between Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, in which Kabuto plays the dominant role and orochimaru the submissive role. The term for the couple where the roles are reversed is OroKabu. Their Relationship 'Part I' Chūnin Exams Arc Kabuto and his team meet with Orochimaru before the next stage of the exams start and Kabuto gives him the intel he's gathered on Sasuke Uchiha. They then assemble with the other qualifying teams and are informed that one-on-one preliminary matches will be held only for Kabuto to opt to withdraw. When asked by Naruto, he claims to be too tired from his encounters with Dosu and Team Oboro to fight. When asked by Yoroi, he claims that this will give Yoroi and Misumi a chance to earn Orochimaru's favour. In truth, Kabuto is concerned that he won't be able to hold himself back in combat and that he'll end up blowing his cover; Orochimaru's presence in the audience also means Kabuto no longer needs to gather intel for him. Kabuto meets with Orochimaru after the preliminaries conclude. Although he doesn't want to trigger his long-term plans yet, Orochimaru is concerned about Sasuke's development, believing that Naruto is having too positive an influence on him. He sends Kabuto to capture Sasuke while it's still possible for Orochimaru to corrupt him. Konoha Crush When Kabuto notices Orochimaru fleeing his own fight with the Third Hokage, Kabuto decides to flee as well and advises that Baki do the same. During the failed invasion, Orochimaru's arms are bound by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Kabuto tries healing them and, when that doesn't work, he provides Orochimaru with medicine for the pain, but those are also ineffective. With few other options available, Orochimaru has Kabuto locate Tsunade, one of his fellow Sannin. Kabuto tracks her to Tanzaku Quarters. After managing to locate her, Kabuto and Orochimaru head out. As Tsunade tries to leave the city with Shizune and Tonton, she is met by Orochimaru and Kabuto, who greet her by summoning snakes and destroying the castle she was walking past. Orochimaru asks Tsunade to heal his arms, as the Third Hokage's sealing of them has been bringing him excruciating pain and making them unusable, leaving him unable to use techniques. Although she has no intentions of helping Orochimaru due to his killing the Third, Orochimaru offers to revive her dead brother, Nawaki, and lover, Dan. This proposal provokes Tsunade's attendant, Shizune, into attacking Orochimaru with a Prepared Needle Shot, which Kabuto blocks. When Tsunade displays a certain willingness to attack them herself, Orochimaru sheds some of his own blood, paralyzing her due to her hemophobia. He and Kabuto leave, giving Tsunade a week to decide. Search for Tsunade Arc During the failed invasion, Orochimaru's arms are bound by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Kabuto tries healing them and, when that doesn't work, he provides Orochimaru with medicine for the pain, but those are also ineffective. With few other options available, Orochimaru has Kabuto locate Tsunade, one of his fellow Sannin. Kabuto tracks her to Tanzaku Quarters. After managing to locate her, Kabuto and Orochimaru head out. As Tsunade tries to leave the city with Shizune and Tonton, she is met by Orochimaru and Kabuto, who greet her by summoning snakes and destroying the castle she was walking past. When they found Tsunade, Kabuto protects Orochimaru from Shizune, who is about to attack them. Orochimaru asks Tsunade to heal his arms, as the Third Hokage's sealing of them has been bringing him excruciating pain and making them unusable, leaving him unable to use techniques. Although she has no intentions of helping Orochimaru due to his killing the Third, Orochimaru offers to revive her dead brother, Nawaki, and lover, Dan. This proposal provokes Tsunade's attendant, Shizune, into attacking Orochimaru with a Prepared Needle Shot, which Kabuto blocks. When Tsunade displays a certain willingness to attack them herself, Orochimaru sheds some of his own blood, paralyzing her due to her hemophobia. He and Kabuto leave, giving Tsunade a week to decide. As they return to Tanzaku Quarters a week later, Orochimaru is confident that Tsunade will heal his arms. However, he believes Shizune may represent an issue, so he sends Kabuto to kill her. Kabuto finds her in the company of Naruto and Jiraiya, another Sannin, forcing him to withdraw and return to Orochimaru. He arrives in time to stop Tsunade's apparent healing of Orochimaru's arms, having noticed her killing intent. Since she won't cooperate, Orochimaru decides that they must fight her and take her by force, though because of his arms, he relies on Kabuto to do the actual fighting; they draw her away from the city so that Shizune and the others can't help her. Kabuto tries to convince Naruto to give up, as otherwise he will be killed and thus left unable to achieve his dream of becoming Hokage. Naruto refuses, so Kabuto attacks with a kunai. Naruto catches the kunai and latches on to Kabuto's hand, preventing him from escaping while Naruto strikes with another Rasengan. Kabuto is propelled backwards and tries healing the damage with his Yin Healing Wound Destruction, but the damage is too extensive and he collapses. Naruto also collapses, Kabuto having severed his heart muscles when the Rasengan hit him; he boasts that nothing can be done to save Naruto, but Tsunade is able to successfully heal him. The fight is now left to Orochimaru and Kabuto helps him summon Manda. Tsunade overcomes her hemophobia and defeats both Manda and Orochimaru, forcing him and Kabuto to retreat. Sasuke Recovery Mission Arc Back in Otogakure, Orochimaru is in immense pain as his arms are bleeding profusely. Kabuto tells Orochimaru that he will die unless he takes over someone else's body, even offering his own, but Orochimaru claims that Sasuke is the only vessel he will take. Kabuto, however, tells Orochimaru that it doesn't look like the Sound Four will bring Sasuke to Oto in time, and that he must take a new vessel quickly before he dies. Kabuto then releases all of the prisoners who he and Orochimaru experimented on, and promises to release only one of them. While still waiting for Sasuke, bandaged up within his new host with Kabuto by his side, Orochimaru comments that either Jirōbō or Kidōmaru would be slowing down the group, but expressed doubts about Sakon's strength, which Kabuto brings up, stating Tayuya was just as strong, and Kimimaro, lamenting that the latter's illness made it impossible to have him as a perfect vessel as originally intended. But with Kimimaro's death, Orochimaru stated that he no longer cared about his previous protégé and instead commented his desire for Sasuke. As he is stuck in Gen'yūmaru's body for the next three years, Orochimaru decided to start training Sasuke once he finally arrived, hoping to shape him into the ideal host. When Sasuke acts disrespectful towards Orochimaru, Kabuto advises him on proper etiquette, to which Sasuke responds with killing intent; Kabuto is surprised by this and Orochimaru is highly impressed and excited by the chakra that Sasuke revealed in response to Kabuto's threat. As Orochimaru anxiously awaits Sasuke's arrival at their lair, Kabuto encourages him to transfer into a new body while he still can, even offering himself. Although Orochimaru rejects the offer, Kabuto finds a strong body for Orochimaru to switch to just in case. In time, due to the Sound Four being hindered by the Konoha ninja sent after them and Sasuke, Orochimaru finally grows tired of waiting and switches to the vessel. Part II Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission Over two-and-a-half years after Sasuke joins forces with Orochimaru, Kabuto is summoned to meet with Sasori at the Tenchi Bridge in Kusagakure. The spy eventually arrives at the bridge around the same time that Yamato does. The spy reveals himself to be none other than Kabuto Yakushi, a Medical-nin formerly of Konohagakure. Kabuto explains that he had just recently experienced Sasori's sleeper spy ninjutsu, and that he had risked his life getting away from Orochimaru long enough to sneak to the bridge. Naruto contemplates on joining Yamato on the bridge as he cannot hear their conversation, but Sakura explains that it is the very wind that hides Kabuto's conversation from their ears that also hides their presence from Kabuto. Unbeknowst to them, Orochimaru himself is observing "Sasori" and Kabuto on the bridge. Yamato inquires as to where Orochimaru and Sasuke are, and Yamato replies that Orochimaru has a secret hideout not too far from the bridge. Asking "Sasori" for the object he requested, Yamato believes that he cannot keep the charade up for too long, and pulls out a kunai to apprehend Kabuto. Just at that moment, Orochimaru arrives in an instant, attempting to use his snakes to bind Kabuto, who leaps out of the way and joins his "Lord Sasori". Yamato realises that he is in a pickle - Orochimaru is too powerful for him to take on one-on-one; he could try to fight him alongside Kabuto, but Kabuto would realise that he is not the real Sasori due to the fact that Yamato is not a puppet master; Yamato could signal for his three comrades to help, but Kabuto would most likely flee. Kabuto prepares a chakra scalpel to strike Orochimaru, but instead turns out and slices "Hiruko". The jab breaks the wooden puppet and Yamato jumps into mid-air, having been cut on his right arm. Orochimaru attempts to kill him using his Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands technique, but Yamato uses a variant of the Body Replacement Technique that uses Wood Release to escape. Orochimaru is surprised at his usage of Wood Release and seems to recognise him. Kabuto, who is actually working with Orochimaru, asks him whether Yamato is Sasori, as Kabuto never saw Sasori's real face. Orochimaru states that it is not, and that he will tell Kabuto about Yamato later; he then asks Yamato to signal his three teammates who are in hiding. Naruto, Sai and Sakura appear, and Kabuto and Orochimaru are amused to see Naruto and Sakura once more. Orochimaru is interested that the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki has tagged along, and muses whether he or Sasuke is the strongest. Naruto's eyes, upon facing Orochimaru and Kabuto, turn red due to the Nine-Tails' influence. Yamato signals for the rest of Team Kakashi to join him on Tenchi Bridge. Kabuto and Orochimaru are amused to see Naruto and Sakura again, the latter musing whether he should bring Sasuke here to pit him against the jinchūriki. Naruto, who is already under the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra, begins to enter into his one-tailed form. Sakura and Saiwatch in a mix of shock and surprise as the chakra surrounding Naruto's body begins to engulf the air. As Orochimaru mentions Sasuke's name again, Naruto grows a second tail and rushes at him with superhuman speed, punching Orochimaru in the face and causing him to go through several yards worth of trees. As Orochimaru makes his way back to the bridge, the part of his face where Naruto struck him has peeled, revealing the face of Gen'yūmaru, the host body Orochimaru is currently occupying. Using his Face Copying Technique, Orochimaru reapplies his face as he remarks how Naruto is finally beginning to act like a jinchūriki; Kabuto himself states that Naruto, using the Nine-Tailed Fox's power, has grown considerably in strength. Back on the bridge, Orochimaru realises that Yamato is team captain only because Naruto is a jinchūriki, citing that Konoha should be grateful for his experiments. When Kabuto asks what he means, Orochimaru reveals that back when he was a Konoha shinobi, he harvested DNA cells from the remains of the First Hokage and attempted to transplant them into babies and children; none of them survived, however. Before he could officially terminate the experiment and dispose of the subjects, he had been caught by the Third Hokage with another experiment in another laboratory, forcing him to flee Konoha. He realises that one of those babies who had been injected with the First Hokage's cells had survived, and that the child is none other than Yamato. Sakura recalls Yamato creating the wooden cage and how she wondered how Yamato was able to use the First's technique, and finally understands the reasoning. Orochimaru adds that the First Hokage had the ability to control tailed beasts, and that since Yamato has the power of the First within him, Konoha assigned him to keep watch on Naruto and control him if need be. When Naruto demands that Orochimaru and Kabuto return Sasuke to them, the duo state that Sasuke came to them of his own accord. Orochimaru tells Naruto that if he wishes to know anything about Sasuke then he would have to beat it out of him. Naruto gives in even more to the Nine-Tails' influence and grows a third tail. The sprouting of the third tail causes the chakra in the air to intensify, causing a burning sensation to everyone else on the bridge. Sai realises that Naruto's true power comes from the demon fox, and Orochimaru, after staring into Naruto's changing pupils, senses the burgeoning Nine-Tailed Fox within. Naruto's three-tailed form then begins to form a chakra vortex above them. An infuriated Naruto, now in his three-tailed form, prepares to attack Orochimaru. Kabuto, sensing the attack, decides to strike Naruto from behind with his Chakra Scalpel. Naruto notices him coming and emits a roar, and his chakra sends Kabuto flying backwards into Sakura, knocking her out. Kabuto continues to soar through the bridge, with Sai and Yamatomoving out of the way, as he crashes into a tree in the woods. Naruto's attack ends up destroying the Tenchi Bridge, and he goes after Orochimaru, who is on the other side of the bridge. Sai claims that it is the perfect time for his real mission to start, and using his Super Beast Imitating Drawing technique creates a giant ink bird. He begins to fly in Naruto and Orochimaru's direction while Sakura, who is knocked out, begins to fall off the bridge. Yamato asks Sai to catch her, but Sai, despite being able to do so, avoids her and lets her fall. Yamato uses his Wood Release ability to steady the collapsing bridge and to catch Sakura. On the other side, the three-tailed Naruto manages to rip Orochimaru's arm off. Orochimaru, however, uses a body replacement technique that causes him to materialise and regurgitate a new body from his mouth, restoring the limb he had lost. Orochimaru claims that Naruto still isn't good enough and that he's not as strong as Sasuke. In the woods, Kabuto uses his chakra to heal his wounds, while remarking that he finally understands why the Akatsuki are after Naruto, having experienced a sample of the true power of a jinchūriki. In the real world, the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox begins to rip, burn and peel away Naruto's skin, leaving just blood and chakra; his peeled skin is soon incinerated by the chakra. Naruto sprouts a fourth tail, and enters into his Version 2 form. Yamato and Sakura notices a smoke-like trail left by his chakra while Sai observes the transformation from above. Yamato stays with Sakura while creating a wood clone to find Naruto. Naruto's painful transformation causes him to emanate a wave of chakra, which cracks the trees around them and bursts the giant ink bird Sai is riding on. The Yamato wood clone manages to protect itself by using Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall, forming a wooden shield. Orochimaru, who also survives the attack, states that Naruto has managed to pique his interest, and wonders what the outcome will be. The Yamato wood clone then sees Naruto's four-tailed form, and curses himself for being unable to prevent it. Naruto, now having no skin, no conscious hold on his body and covered only in blood and chakra, lets out a devastating roar. Naruto, in his four-tailed form, begins fighting against Orochimaru. Orochimaru attempts to use his snakes to grab a hold of Naruto, but the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra end up incinerating the snakes. As the chakra begins to burn Orochimaru as well, he uses his body replacement technique to regurgitate a new body out of his mouth before the old one is incinerated. Retaining the bottom half of a snake, he slithers in a rapid manner towards Naruto and punches Naruto in the face. Naruto is able to grow another fox head and claws out his chakra and manages to bisect Orochimaru. Using his Gathering of the Snakes technique, Orochimaru is able to connect and regenerate both of his halves. He attempts to finish Naruto off by spitting out one thousand snakes, each armed with a sword in their mouths. However, Naruto uses one hand to create a devastating blast of pure chakra that incinerates the snakes and sends Orochimaru flying. Sai and the Yamato wood clone are unable to interfere due to the intensity of the battle; the wood clone, however, informs Yamato that Naruto has indeed reached his four-tailed form. Sakura and Yamato are approached on the remains of the Tenchi Bridge by Kabuto, who wonders how Konoha knew that he was to meet Sasori at this time and place. Kabuto states that not even the other Akatsuki members knew of the meeting, and since Sasori isn't the type to give up information under torture, he must have been captured or killed. When Sakura tells him that it's the latter, Kabuto finds joy in it. He tells Yamato and Sakura that Sasori bore a grudge towards Orochimaru and always claimed that he would kill him, and therefore must have told them about his secret meeting in order for them to kill Orochimaru on his behalf. On the other side of the destroyed bridge, Naruto prepares himself to use the ultimate tailed beast technique - Tailed Beast Ball. Yamato's wood clone wonders how Naruto is still able to move despite having so much chakra on his body, and Orochimaru echoes the sentiment, claiming that that degree of dense chakra should weigh him down. As Naruto swallows the chakra balls, the increased density does indeed cause him to sink into the ground; nonetheless, he fires the Tailed Beast Bomb as a beam towards Orochimaru. The Sannin tries to block the move by summoning Triple Rashōmon, one of his highest defensive techniques, but the Triple Rashōmon is completely obliterated by the Tailed Beast Bomb. At the end of his rope, Orochimaru resorts to using his Sword of Kusanagi in an attempt to impale Naruto. While the sword does hit him, it does not impale; instead, Naruto is send flying through the air and into a wall near the bridge. Sakura, Yamato and Kabuto witness Naruto's four-tailed form for the first time, and Kabuto remarks that this is the closest Naruto has ever gotten to fully transforming into the Nine-Tailed Fox; Sakura is terrified at Naruto's appearance. Naruto, in his four-tailed form, is pinned against the side of a cliff by Orochimaru's Sword of Kusanagi. However, the Sword of Kusanagi is unable to pierce Naruto's body due to the Nine-Tails' chakra coating it. Orochimaru retracts the sword and slowly begins his descent back to his body. Sai is observing Orochimaru, unaware that he is being watched by Yamato's wood clone. Orochimaru states that Gen'yūmaru's body is beginning to reject him and that he is at his limit right now, though he comforts himself over the thought of still having Sasuke. Kabuto states that he is surprised that Naruto would go this far to save Sasuke, claiming that the boy is gone and only the monster remains. His words cause Sakura to remember Naruto's promise to her - that he would bring Sasuke back no matter what, and that as his nindo, he would not go back on his promise. Sakura runs towards him in tears, despite Yamato's warning. She attempts to tell Naruto to change back, but Naruto simply smacks her aside with his tail, harming her. Before he can kill her, Yamato uses his Wood Releaseability to create tree trunks to bind Naruto. Kabuto heads towards Sakura, and Yamato, believing that he is about to finish off a wounded Sakura, binds him as well. Kabuto tells him that he is actually attempting to save Sakura, and he heals her wounds to the best of his ability. He tells them that they share a common enemy - the Akatsuki - and that he is sparing and saving their lives just so that they can continue to dwindle down their numbers. Meanwhile, Sai approaches Orochimaru, claiming that he means no harm and that he is only an envoy of Danzō Shimura sent to relay a message. Orochimaru is surprised that Danzō is still alive and agrees to hear the message, but warns Sai to choose his words very carefully, lest he get killed. Sai responds that he cannot choose his words carefully as he can only relay the exact message Danzō told him. As he smiles at Orochimaru, the Sannin launches a sword towards Sai. Sai conveys a message from his superior, Danzō Shimura, to Orochimaru. Orochimaru, however, responds by throwing a sword at Sai. The sword impales him, but Sai turns out to be just an ink clone. Orochimaru tells Sai that he has no manners, and that while addressing someone of a higher rank, he must do so face-to-face. The real Sai pops out of the ground, and Orochimaru tells him to prove that he can be trusted. As he attempts to retrieve something out of his pack, he is tackled by Kabuto. Sai's belongings fall out and scatter on the ground, including an envelope. Sai tells Orochimaru that the contents of the envelope is personally addressed to the Sannin by Danzō himself. After opening the envelope, Orochimaru tells Yamato that Sai would be coming with them, and the trio depart, unaware that they are being observed by Yamato's wood clone. Yamato's wood clone continues to pursue Orochimaru, Sai and Kabuto, and they decide to set a trap. Kabuto creates a corpse that resembles Sai and rigs it with kunai, shuriken and explosive tags. The Yamato wood clone inadvertently triggers the trap, cutting off his communication with the real Yamato. Sai, Orochimaru and Kabuto continue to run on a river, heading to their base. They decide to stop and take a break in order for Kabuto clean his medical supplies and weapons. Kabuto tells Orochimaru that he needs a new male cadaver, between the ages of 15 and 17, to replace the one he had summoned to lay their trap. Sai notices that his picture book is not in his bag and recalls dropping his belongings when Kabuto had ambushed him. Orochimaru, Sai and Kabuto finally reach their hideout. As they enter, Sai notices a man waiting for them, whom he immediately realises is none other than Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke, with his Sharingan activated, tells Orochimaru that he is late. In Orochimaru's hideout, Sai finally comes face-to-face with Sasuke, the man that Narutoand Sakura have been searching for. Sasuke is impatient, as he was waiting for Orochimaru to teach him a new technique. When Sai attempts to introduce himself to Sasuke, Sasuke uses his Sharingan to place him under a unique genjutsu, which fills the usually emotionless Sai with fear and brings him down to his knees. Sai regains his composure and tells Sasuke that he must be the one Naruto is looking for. The mention of Naruto's name piques Sasuke's interest, but the latter merely rebuffs that he sounds familiar. Sai then tells Sasuke that Sakura had told him that Naruto thought of him as a brother; Sasuke responds that he only has one brother, and that is the one he must kill. With that, Sasuke disappears, and Orochimaru heads off as well, leaving Sai with Kabuto. Before he leaves, he gives the contents of Danzō's envelope to Kabuto and tells him to prepare a Bingo Book. Kabuto opens the envelope and to his surprise, discovers that the contents are the personnel files of every Anbu member under the Hokage's command, including those assigned to the Hokage Guard Platoon. Sasuke scoffs at the idea of returning to the village, telling the group that he is done with them. He drops his sword, inserting it into the ground, and performs hand signs to kill them all. As he activates chakra on his body, Orochimaru grabs his hand and tells him not to use that technique. Sasuke rudely tells him to let go of his hand, and Kabuto reprimands him for doing so. Kabuto tells Sasuke that Team Kakashi is to be spared so that they may continue to kill off Akatsuki members, and in doing so, may allow Sasuke a chance to take out Itachi. Sasuke relents, and the three disappear in flames. Itachi Pursuit Mission Orochimaru's current host body, Gen'yūmaru, begins to reject him, leaving the sannin to cough up blood and consider initiating his Living Corpse Reincarnation. Kabuto pulls out his Ninja Info Cards from the Chūnin Exam days three years ago, and Orochimaru recalls back when he first encountered Sasuke in the Forest of Death, when he ingested Sasuke's scroll and forced Sasuke to stab himself in the leg with a kunai. He tells Kabuto that he knew that Sasuke was the perfect host body for him when he witnessed Sasuke activate his Sharingan and combine the Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades along with his Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique to burn him when he was using Shiore's body; subsequently, he remembers how he had given Sasuke the Cursed Seal of Heaven and had encountered Anko shortly after that. Orochimaru goes on to reminisce about Sasuke had fared in his match against Yoroi Akadō, and how Yoroi had begun using his chakra absorption in an attempt to draw out Sasuke's cursed seal, only for Sasuke to repress it with willpower and defeat Yoroi with his Lion Combo. Kabuto remarks that this is when Orochimaru had decided to stick around and witness the rest of the exams, which Orochimaru claimed was a good idea as Sasuke had improved considerably by his second match, in which he had used the Chidori against Gaara. As Orochimaru continues to hack up blood, Kabuto excuses himself to fetch more medicine. Kabuto muses how Orochimaru is the only person he'd always be loyal to and faithfully serve, recalling Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, how he managed to kill the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage, and the fact that he was able go up against both Jiraiya and Tsunade. Kabuto, who had been elsewhere preparing medicine, notices that Orochimaru's door is destroyed and peeks inside to see Sasuke's body standing up while the white snake is on the floor. He wonders whether the Sasuke in front of him is the real Sasuke or Orochimaru, only for Sasuke to use his Sharingan on Kabuto to show him what had happened. While Orochimaru had transported himself and Sasuke to a mental plane in order to take over his body, Sasuke had used his Sharingan to reverse the effects of Orochimaru's technique, eroding the environment. He had repeated Itachi's words to Orochimaru on how his Sharingan was able to see through any of his techniques, and proceeded to absorb Orochimaru's remains. Kabuto is shocked to discover that Orochimaru is now dead, while Sasuke leaves the hideout. Naruto, Yamato and Hinata are ambushed by Kabuto, who gives them Orochimaru's gathered intelligence on the Akatsuki. When asked why he would give up such a thing, Kabuto tells Naruto that he is grateful towards him; ever since Kabuto was a child, he was used as a spy and thus moved from village to village until he became Orochimaru's subordinate. After Orochimaru had died, he felt as though he had lost his purpose and identity until he realised that Naruto had forged his own identity when the villagers thought he was no more than a human variant of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Kabuto reveals the left side of his body to the trio, which resembles Orochimaru, and explains that he had grafted portions of Orochimaru's corpse onto himself as a way of clinging to his dead master and that he plans to avenge Orochimaru by eliminating Sasuke. With that said, Kabuto flees, evading capture. Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax Kabuto monitors Madara's fight until he is found in his cave by Itachi (using information received earlier from Nagato). Itachi states his intentions to kill Kabuto in order to end the Impure World Reincarnation, so Kabuto informs him that the technique will not end with his death. Itachi is quickly joined by Sasuke, who initially mistakes Kabuto for Orochimaru. Sasuke has other business with Itachi and tries to kill Kabuto, but Itachi blocks his attack. Kabuto, aware that Sasuke wants to confront Itachi about the Uchiha Clan Downfall, tries to convince Sasuke to join forces with him, but Sasuke refuses. Since Itachi's only option of stopping him is to use genjutsu, Kabuto covers his eyes with his hood and sends his snakes to attack them. They destroy the snakes with their Susano'o and then attack Kabuto himself. Kabuto is able to slip free of their Susanoo using his research of Suigetsu Hōzuki's Hydrification Technique; he then heals the little damage he did receive using his research of Karin's Uzumaki-lineage. Because Sasuke was on a team with both of Suigetsu and Karin, he asks if Kabuto also has the abilities of its other member, Jūgo. Kabuto confirms this, explaining how he used Jūgo's passive ability to absorb natural energy in order to achieve Sage Mode, a state Orochimaru was never able to master and thus proof that Kabuto has surpassed him. Kabuto has a flashback of when the Konoha Orphanage aided several wounded shinobi — through which Kabuto was tasked with healing Orochimaru. Seeing talent in the young man, Orochimaru asked whether or not he wants to become a shinobi, to which Kabuto declined, saying he is not interested in the job. To earn money for the orphanage's operations, Nonō used her medical ninjutsu to treat injured shinobi of Konohagakure; Kabuto, having been taught medical ninjutsu by Nonō, would assist. Although the money helped, they still relied on direct funding from Konoha in order to get by. Aware of this fact, Danzō Shimura visited the orphanage one day threatening to withhold Konoha's funding if Nonō didn't turn one of the orphans over to his Root organization. Kabuto, after eavesdropping on this conversation, volunteered against Nonō and Urushi's protests. Root trained Kabuto in espionage and over the years sent him to gain intel by, at different times, posing as a ninja of Kumo, Kiri, Suna, and Iwa. While in Iwa, Kabuto's spying was discovered and an Iwa-nin cornered him. He was able to strike down his pursuer, but only afterwards discovered that it was Nonō, who was also working for Root. Kabuto apologized profusely and tried to heal Nonō, but she didn't recognize his face, even when he told her his name. She died from her injuries and Kabuto was forced to flee before Nonō's backup found him. Once safe, Kabuto was disillusioned by what had happened, wondering who he was if even Nonō didn't know him. He was soon confronted by Orochimaru,6 an underling of Danzō who'd taken an interest in Kabuto over the years. Orochimaru explained that Danzō had been giving Nonō falsified photographs of Kabuto so that she would no longer recognize him when they met. This in turn allowed Danzō to pit Nonō and Kabuto against each other and thus eliminate Root's two most effective, and consequently, knowledgeable spies. Assuming that Orochimaru planned to finish him off, Kabuto attacked him, distraught by the loss of both Nonō and the self-identification he'd acquired through her. Orochimaru survived the attack and suggested that Kabuto now try making a new identity for himself using whatever knowledge of the world he could acquire. Orochimaru offered to help him in this regard and invited him to help make a new village, Otogakure, where individuality could thrive. Kabuto agreed and Orochimaru gave him a new backstory: that he was found by Nonō - a captain of Konoha's Medic Corps - after the Battle of Kikyō Pass and adopted as her son.7 With this backstory, Kabuto was able to become a genin of Konoha, which he used to enter the biannual Chūnin Exams so that he could gather information on his fellow participants for Orochimaru's use. Later, he was found by Akatsuki and was turned into one of Sasori's sleeper agents so he would spy on Orochimaru.8 Shortly afterwards, Orochimaru realized the truth and freed him from this control, allowing Kabuto to effectively infiltrate the organisation for Orochimaru. When not spying, Kabuto helped Orochimaru with his experimentations and his studies of different Oto-nin's abilities. In the anime, Kabuto also helped Orochimaru find genetic samples for use in the Impure World Reincarnation9 and also helped him escape from Itachi Uchiha after the latter's failed attempt to capture Itachi.10 Kabuto tries to get close to Itachi so that he can regain control over his body, but Sasuke keeps him away with Amaterasu until Itachi's body recovers. Itachi admits that he used to be like Kabuto, as he also struggled with who he was and tried to define himself by becoming perfect. He eventually discovered that this was the wrong tactic and that the only way to understand himself was to accept his faults. Kabuto is unmoved, having thought long and hard about one's identity and now firmly committed to his current course. He uses his "DNA" ability in order to manifest aspects of the Sound Five and even Orochimaru, using their broad range of abilities to overwhelm Itachi and Sasuke from a safe distance. They counter each of his attacks and Itachi continues trying to reason with him, frustrating Kabuto enough that he moves closer in order to attack Itachi in person. Suigetsu proceeds to show Sasuke the scroll that he found at Orochimaru's hideout earlier. After examining its contents, Sasuke's next motive is to meet with Orochimaru and explained to a confused Suigetsu that he is not one to die so easily as well as declaring that he is going to meet the "ones who know everything". With Jūgo's assistance, Sasuke revives Orochimaru via the Evil Releasing Method. Sasuke then shows Orochimaru the scroll he was given earlier and states he wants to get answers from those who know everything. With that, after absorbing his chakra from the incapacitated Kabuto, Orochimaru agreed to his disciple's request as they prepare to depart. Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki As Orochimaru and his team reach Sasuke, they realise that the unknown chakra signature is that of Kabuto. Since Kabuto has assimilated other people into himself, his chakra signature has become unknown, explaining why Karin could not identify the person near to Sasuke. Kabuto explains that he has decided to save Sasuke, after coming to realise who he was, thanks to the Izanami. New Era Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise Despite his crimes, Kabuto wasn't imprisoned following the war, and was instead allowed to operate with a degree of autonomy, eventually becoming the director of the Konoha Orphanage. Orochimaru noted to Sasuke that the three of them were not truly free, and had most likely only been spared because the village considered them invaluable tools that could be called upon should another threat to the shinobi world arise.56 Evidence * Kabuto has always been loyal to Orochimaru. * Orochimaru has been shown to treat Kabuto with some respect, and lets the latter snark more than he would anyone else. * Kabuto took care of Orochimaru when he was sick or when his arms were hurt. *When Kabuto meets the resurrected Orochimaru again, he talks to him like one would talk to an ex-lover. *Despite having claimed to have surpassed Orochimaru, Kabuto still held great respect for Orochimaru, still referring to him with the honourific "-sama". Quotes * (To Naruto) "After Orochimaru died, I found myself not knowing who I was, again… Without knowing parent or country, I was taken in by the enemy… Since a young age I've moved about countries and villages as a spy… To me, things like countries, villages… they hold no firm reality in my mind. That was, of course, until I found myself under the wing of Orochimaru… but that presence is gone again. What am I anyway… The pain of not having an identity… I'd think you should understand… Naruto." - Kabuto * Databooks * Kabuto wants to fight Naruto and Orochimaru. * Trivia * Kabuto wants to fight Naruto and Orochimaru. * In Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth Full Power Ninja Chronicles, Kabuto serves as both the comedic foil to Orochimaru and the voice of reason when his master's schemes border on idiocy. * Among the Fans KabuOro or OroKabu is not very popular in fandom. This pairing is supported could most likely be Kabuto's loyalty towards Orochimaru. It is a rival to OroSasu, KabuSasu and OroTsuna. External Links References Category:Yaoi couples Category:Couples involving Orochimaru Category:Couples involving Kabuto Category:Fanon Couples Category:Large age difference couples Category:Akatsuki+Konoha Category:Akatsuki couples